Here are some pictures as well as the archived videos from our event Understanding Islam, on Nov. 1st 2016. The first video is the lecture portion (HSU Professors Bill Herbrechtsmeier, Leena Dallasheh, Saeed Mortazavi). The second video is the Q&A portion.

The Religious Studies Department is holding an event on the evening of Tuesday, September 6, from 6:00-9:00, in the KBR (on the HSU campus, below the clock tower).

We’ll be screening the feature documentary Oriented, a film about three gay Palestinian men living in Tel Aviv. The film will address questions of gender, sexuality, queer politics, religion, and nationality, among other things, and the discussion to follow the film should be a lively one.

This event is free and open to the public, and is being offered to correspond with, and in support of, Humboldt Pride Week.

Here are some pictures from our Religious Studies graduation reception–on May 14th, 2016 at Larson Park in Arcata, CA. Congratulations to all our wonderful students! And a special mention to our student award winners:

On April 13, the Religious Studies department welcomed Drs. Roy King and Peter Underhill (HSU alum) to campus to speak on “Climate Change & Migration, through Genetics and Religious Studies.” Both drove from Stanford, and led over 100 students and communities members through a multi-disciplinary lecture and discussion of topical interest to many of us here on the HSU campus.

Underhill has been working in research that allows us now to understand ancient populations through detailed analysis of DNA typologies, that include many people from pre-historic cultures. He gave an overview of the science behind this, and Roy King followed with a discussion of how this research allows us to understand more about the emergence of ancient Israelite culture and the Hebrew Bible.

The event was a success, and we hope to have one or both of these scholars back for another event in the coming academic year.

On April 2, 2015 Mohammad Monib and Mohammad Amindin (Professors at the International Institute for Islamic Studies in Tehran, Iran) gave a lecture about the foundations of Islamic Mysticism on the HSU campus. They stressed the importance of compassion and justice as central concepts and practices for all of Islamic life, but also for the elevated consciousness that derives from Sufi practice. Their lectures were informative and filled with excellent examples from their long experience and extensive study of Islam in Iran. We celebrate this magnificent example of intercultural exchange.

Many thanks to Mary Bockover for organizing this event, and for including Religious Studies as partners with the Philosophy Department in sponsoring the lecture.